6 of 10

Write now Article Tools

Page 2 of 2

"Great Spirit", it was not something to be taken away.

An Indian was born, lived and died. There was no line separating this world from the next. The Great Spirit was at home in the world, he was the world. An Indian became a man or a woman, a hunter or a chief. There was no "Great Society" to build, there was to be no "New Deal". There was no Social Security, there was no security, just what was. There was no one to tax, no reason to spend.

They were neither poor nor rich. They did not live in or create either wealth or poverty. They did not possess something of value to be "counted" or hoarded or squandered. There was nothing to be stored in banks or kept in vaults, guarded at all costs. All came from the earth, there was no value outside of what they had been given.

A people can not be "stricken" with a concept that doesn't exist in their world. Poverty measured by numbers and in amounts, determined by government agencies and remedied with printed paper backed by the full faith of that same government has no meaning. Programs and education can only serve to remind of what has been taken and repeat the multitude of unsound reasons why.

The Native American has lost himself and his world. That which cannot be replaced, has been replaced. There is no cure for this impoverishment.

Learn more about this author, Gene Denardo.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

• << previous page
• 1
• 2

Add your voice

Know something about Why are Native American communities in the US and Canada more poverty stricken than not??
We want to hear your view. Write now!